Pillows and Intimacy
by Angels-in-the-snow
Summary: When Percy and Annabeth come to stay with Sally after the war, how do they cope with the aftermath of Tartarus? One-shot!


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 **-Kat**

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Sally Pov:

When my baby can back to me, I wasn't sure he was ever going to be alright. The haunted look in his eyes frightened me, and the scars that lined his body brought tears to my eyes. Chiron and I had long decided that with the aftermaths of Tartarus it would be best if Percy and Annabeth came and stayed with me.

The first time I saw him I had barely recognized him; the boy I knew and raised was long gone. When I had rushed to gather my sweet son in my arms, he had flinched back, only falling into my grasp after looking at Annabeth for some sort of confirmation. The confirmation, I had learned later, was because sometimes he was never sure that he wasn't in Tartarus, where hallucination and tricks were common behind every corner. It broke my heart to think of him in such a place, a place where it made him question whether his own mother was real or just a figment of his imagination.

"My baby, I am so sorry," was what I whispered over and over again as his sobs came to a shuttering stop. I waved over to Annabeth and threaded her into my hold as well. As soon as she had any contact with Percy, it seemed as though he sparked to life, as though she was the only thing that was keeping him alive and by what they went through, she may as well be.

"I love you, mom," he whispers from the crook of Annabeth's neck. It seemed as though there was no way for him to let go of her.

I release them and tell them to go and rest as I make dinner. I turn around on my way to the kitchen and smile when I see them fold together and walk to Percy's room. When Paul came in and shut the door behind him, we heard a ear piercing scream from within Percy's room. Beconing for Paul to follow me and to leave his things behind, we rush in the direction of his room and open the door, not knowing what to expect.

When I got there, the sight knocked the breath out of my lungs. Percy was curled under Annabeth shaking with his eyes closed, murmuring. She was stroking his face with one hand and holding him down with the other.

"We're together. Hey, we're safe," I nearly collapsed into Paul's arms. She never said that they were okay. "Percy, I love you, hear me? We are together and you love me and we are safe. There are no monsters here, none that we can see and certainly none we cannot see." Her words seemed to have an effect because he uncurled himself and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her torso as hard as he could without breaking her, all the while burying his tear soaked face in her hair.

"Together? You promise?" was what he muttered.

"There is no one here to take me away." That seemed to calm him enough, but the next words out of his mouth made me freeze in horror. "They could torture me forever, but the moment they make me forget you is the moment I stop living,".

"I know, sweetheart. I know,". It broke my heart to see them like this, knowing that there was nothing I could do to make them feel better other than to let them heal all on their own.

Through the next few weeks it seemed as though the only thing that keeps them sane is each other. The few times that they were separate they were okay for a few minutes, but it seemed as though they twitched when the other was not present, that a part of them was missing and they couldn't find it.

The first time they showered, they wanted to do so together, which Paul strongly was against. But after the first time he witnessed a panic attack, the scratching, screaming, and the sheer horror that was present when the other was not near, was enough to convince Paul that no matter how intimate a shower was, the bond they held was much much more intimate.

They talked less, verbal cues seemed to be more work to do than the language they created with small movements of the hand, turning their head, or even just a look seemed to be all they needed to communicate. They rarely said that they loved each other, but by the way they held on to one another, they had no need to because the other already knew what they were thinking.

Nights were much harder to get through in the beginning. The dark seemed to be a big problem, one that was fixed with midnight trips to walmart to buy all the portable lamps and lights and candles to be set up all around Percy and Annabeth's room. I was shocked when Annabeth requested something, but there was nothing that she could ask for that I wouldn't give.

"Pillows. Can we have all the pillows you can find? And maybe a few sheets?" was all she requested. I sent Paul out as soon as she voiced her request, and seeing her eyes light up when he returned was all the payment I needed. I was curious as to what she would do with them and when I found out I couldn't help but let out a giggle.

It was a pillow fort for Percy's floor. When Percy saw, the smile he gave Annabeth was priceless, something that I could never thank her for enough.

They had trouble sleeping in his bed because of how open it was, so the fort was the perfect option. It seemed that in the lit up room, wrapped up in the fort, they could not get much happier.

When they had finally feel asleep, wrapped up in each other, it seemed at least in their dreams, they could find some peace.

I don't think they will ever be okay on their own, but having a new daughter will my son to make him okay, is okay with me.


End file.
